Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Design and Development of Educational Platform inAugmented Reality Environment using Gamification toenhance Traditional, Electronic and Lifelong Learning
Experience
Athanasia EleftheriaChantzi
University of Patras,Department of Computer
Engineering and [email protected]
Charikleia PlessaUniversity of Patras,
Department of ComputerEngineering and [email protected]
Iason ChatziparadeisisGkanas
University of Patras,Department of Computer
Engineering and [email protected]
Dimitrios TsolisUniversity of Western Greece,Cultural Heritage Management
and New TechnologiesDepartment
Athanasios TsakalidisUniversity of Patras,
Department of ComputerEngineering and [email protected]
ABSTRACTThe advent of technological advances can be used to im-prove many aspects of everyday life, including education. Inorder to enhance education in the optimal way, we chose tocombine Augmented Reality (AR) and Gamification in thecreation of an educational AR book. The proposed subjectis Science aimed at children between the ages of 10-12 yearsold. Users interact with a virtual laboratory and are ableto perform experiments and complete challenges in a gameformat meant to expand and test their knowledge. UsingAR and gamification techniques, we aim to deliver a morecomprehensive understanding of the subject matter while atthe same time engage learners and increase their enjoymentduring the educational process.
Categories and Subject DescriptorsK.3 [Computers and Education]: Miscellaneous
General TermsTheory and application
KeywordsAugmented Reality, gamification, education, e-learning, en-gagement, AR book
1. INTRODUCTIONThe evolution of technology has affected the way people per-ceive many aspects of their lives, including the way theylearn. Since learners have constant exposure to a varietyof immersive technologies, the role of the educational pro-cess becomes more challenging and traditional teaching en-vironments fail to engage and motivate them. Further moreefficient feedback and fastest assessment during the learn-ing process are required, as well as the ability for learnersto work at their own pace, without losing the element ofinteractivity and personalized education. The introductionof technology in education and e-learning are not meant tosubstitute live tutors and classrooms but instead enhancethe educational process and become an essential supportingcomponent. Two significant, upcoming technological con-cepts that can serve these purposes are Augmented Reality(AR) and Gamification.
2. AR AND GAMIFICATION THEORY ANDTECHNIQUES
2.1 Augmented realityAugmented reality (AR) is a live, direct or indirect, view ofa physical, real-world environment whose elements are aug-mented by computer-generated sensory input such as audioor visual content, as well as GPS data. With the help ofadvanced AR technology (e.g. adding computer vision andobject recognition) the information about the surroundingreal world of the user becomes interactive and digitally ma-nipulatable. Artificial information about the environmentand its objects can be overlaid on the real world. [6] [1]
2.2 Augmented reality in EducationAugmented reality applications can complement a standardcurriculum. Text, graphics, video and audio can be super-imposed into a student’s real time environment. Textbooks
BCI'13 September 19-21, Thessaloniki, Greece. Copyright © 2013 for the individual papers by the papers' authors. Copying permitted only for private and academic purposes. This volume is published and copyrighted by its editors.
92
and other educational reading material can contain embed-ded ”markers” that, when scanned by an AR device, pro-duce supplementary information to the student rendered ina multimedia format. Students can participate interactivelywith computer generated simulations of various events, ex-ploring and learning each significant detail of the event. ARcan give students a more comprehensive understanding ofscience, since it allows them to visualize the spatial struc-ture of a complex model by virtually interacting with it, atminimal cost and zero health risk. Augmented reality tech-nology also permits learning via remote collaboration, sincestudents and instructors at different locations can share acommon virtual learning environment populated by virtualobjects and learning materials that they can use to interactwith one another within that setting. [1]
2.3 GamificationGamification is the use of game thinking, game mechanics,game dynamics and frameworks in a non-game context in or-der to engage users, solve problems, improve user experience,and promote desired behaviors. [2] [12].This can be achievedby using techniques from the fields of psychology and gamedesign. It is used to improve, timelines and learning [2].Gamification has found its way into domains like market-ing, politics, health, fitness [12], market research, businessmanagement and education, with analysts predicting that itwill become a multi-billion dollar industry by 2015
2.4 Gamification in EducationGamification techniques leverage people’s natural desires forcompetition, achievement, status, self-expression, altruism,and closure. [2] A core strategy for gamifying is to providerewards to players for accomplishing desired tasks. Typesof rewards include points, achievement badges or levels, [10]the filling of a progress bar, unlocking bonus content/higherlevels, and providing the user with vir
tual currency. [10] Competition is another element of gamesthat can be used in gamification. Making the rewards for ac-complishing tasks visible to other players or providing leaderboards are ways of encouraging players to compete. [14] An-other approach to gamification is to make existing tasks feelmore like games. Some techniques used in this approach in-clude adding meaningful choice, onboarding with a tutorial,increasing challenge [13] and adding narrative. [2]
When gamifying any task, a designer’s goal is to guide theuser in a state called ”flow”. Flow is a psychology conceptintroduced by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in 1975 described as” the satisfying, exhilarating feeling of creative accomplish-ment and heightened functioning” [8]. In order to achieve astate of flow, the user’s skill must be approximately equalto the challenge offered by the task. A challenge level thatexceeds the user’s skills results in a state of anxiety, causingthem to quit whereas the opposite leads them to a state ofboredom and fails to engage them. An important aspect ofgame design that has to be taken into consideration whengamifying a task, is Richard Bartle’s theory which catego-rizes players in 4 types, according to the way they interactwithin a game’s environment [7]. These types of players are:-Achievers: Players that view the game as a challenge theymust overcome.-Explorers: Players that are interested in experiencing every
Figure 1: The Flow Diagram.
Figure 2: Player types.
facet of the game and discover all of the game’s secrets.-Socializers: Players view the game and its objective as acatalyst for social interactions.-Killers: Players that derive enjoyment from defeating otherplayers. It is important to notice that these types are mutu-ally inclusive, meaning a player can display characteristicsfrom all types at the same time. [11] [17]
Gamifying education can be beneficial for both students andteachers. By adding game elements, such as rewards, leader-boards etc, in a syllabus the learning process can becomea more joyful experience.[5] Learners can be more moti-vated to explore and study subjects that otherwise wouldbe unattractive, or seem difficult to them. Instead of pas-sively learning by reading text or attending lectures, stu-dents are actively participating in the learning procedure.The gamified experience increases students’ awareness byproviding additional information and by putting them in sce-narios that will make them do and understand things whichin a traditional or normal computer based training may be’tuned out’. [3] From a teacher’s perspective, adding interac-tivity to a course and creating a spirit of healthy competitionkeeps students more engaged and increases their productiv-ity. Also, by receiving constant feedback from their stu-dents, teachers can track and report their progress in orderto more efficiently tailor their courses to meet the specificneeds of both their audience and each individual student.Gamification gives a more dynamic character to educationand promotes lifelong learning. [12]
3. STATE OF THE ART RESEARCHAn attempt to bring Augmented Reality in education wasmade by the Augmented Reality Development Lab (ARDL)in their website. This website provides a variety of AR mark-
93
ers that contain virtual objects relevant to a multitude ofcourses. Through the use of these markers students canbetter visualize their subject matter and gain a more com-plete understanding of their lessons. This project is similarto our own in its use of AR, however it does not contain anygamification elements that would contribute to make the ed-ucational process more fun.
One of the few empirical researches on the subject of Gam-ification is the master’s thesis ”Game mechanic based e-learning”. [9] This project involved the creation of a webplatform for a gamified e-learning experience where studentscreated and answered questions as an alternative way tostudy and revise topics. Apart from the collaborative as-pect, the only gamification mechanism is experience pointsand evaluation results showed that it only caused a marginalincrease in student motivation and engagement.
4. AN INNOVATION SYSTEM INAUGMENTED REALITY AND GAMIFI-CATION IN EDUCATION
The goal of this project is to implement augmented realityand gamification technologies in the creation of an educa-tional book. The chosen subject is a series of simple scienceexperiments aimed at children between the ages of 10-12.Part of the book is in the form of a traditional science text-book (figure 4) and the rest consist of embedded markersthat when scanned by an AR device produces a 3d simula-tion of a related experiment (figure 5). Through the use ofan AR device, the user is able to interact with the experi-ment and have a more hands on experience with the subjectmatter in order to assimilate it more effectively. Each chap-ter has a different AR ”virtual lab” with the necessary toolsto perform experiments that help the student gain a deeperunderstanding of the subject matter.Additionally, game el-ements are implemented in each experiment to help, moti-vate, guide and engage students. The game elements chosento be applied in this project are:
• Onboarding• Points• Levels• Badges• Challenges• Replay or do over• Unlockable content• Customization
Onboarding is the act of bringing a novice into your sys-tem. [15] [16] A virtual guide teaches new users how to in-teract with each virtual lab and continues to support themeither by giving them instructions or by posing challengesfor them to solve. The challenges set by the virtual guideare of increasing difficulty and guide the user in discover-ing the potential uses of each lab. These challenges givestudents goals and the feeling like they’re working towardssomething. As rewards for these challenges the gamifiedapplication includes a point system, proficiency levels andachievement badges that help the users track their progress,motivate them and reward their effort. Additionally a ”Freemode” allows users to freely experiment with each virtuallab and earn extra badges exclusive to this mode. Thesebadges were implemented in order to reward players thatare willing to step outside the constraints of the structured
Figure 3: The virtual guide.
Figure 4: A textbook page of the AR book.
game.
Performing experiments in a virtual environment has theadvantage of giving the student a replay button which af-fords them the option of failing with minimal consequences.This encourages exploration, curiosity and discovery-basedlearning. Another feature implemented in the game thatcontributes to student engagement is the inclusion of un-lockable content either in the form of extra challenges or inthe form of virtual goods such as customization options forthe virtual guide or special badges.
The game elements described above were implemented inorder to appeal to Bartle’s player types. Challenges of in-creasing difficulty, rewards and experience levels are featuresthat appeal to achievers since they give them the sense of ac-complishment they want from playing a game. Some hiddenbadges and rewards that are obtainable by experimentingin the game’s free mode as well as the virtual goods andcustomization options given to players, are elements thatcover the needs of explorer types. Since this project has noconnectivity or multiplayer features, there are no elementsto appeal directly to socializers. However since the applica-tion is meant to be used within a classroom, it can becomea catalyst for social interaction and this way meet some ofsocializer types’ needs. Since killer types derive enjoymentnot only from winning but mainly by lessening other peo-ple’s enjoyment of the game [17], it has been chosen not toinclude any elements appealing to them because this is notthe desired behavior to promote within a classroom environ-
94
Figure 5: A marker page of the AR book.
Figure 6: Early Implementation of a virtual lab.
ment. The design and rendering of the 3D models requiredfor the project is done using the Blender 3D computer graph-ics software [4]. The models created in Blender are exportedto the Unity 3D game engine [5] where the interactive gameenvironment is created and the gamification elements areimplemented. Finally the Vuforia plugin for Unity 3D isused to add the AR features.
5. CONCLUSION, EVALUATION AND FU-TURE WORK
This project is an early approach to gamifying education.Our aim is to use the technologies of AR and gamificationin order to create an alternative method for students to learnin a more enjoyable and productive way. This was achievedthrough an Augmented Reality book that simulates a virtuallaboratory. By interacting with the application students canvisualize and absorb the subject matter while encouragingcreativity and critical thinking.
For the evaluation of the project student’s and teacher’sfeedback will be taken into account. Mobile phones andtablets will be handed to the students so that they interactwith the application during their science class. Our researchteam, with the teacher’s help, will have an open conver-sation with the students and discuss their experience withthe software. The most important aspects of the feedbackwill be user interface intuitiveness , whether or not it moti-vated them to study and experiment with science, whetherit kept them engaged and if the application helped the learn-ing process. Since hardware will be recollected at the end
of the training period, our research team will collect preciseinformation regarding the usage of the software such as lev-els completed, average level time, average completion time,complete time spent at the application etc. Teachers’ crite-ria for evaluating the project will be their everyday feedbackfrom the students.
The next step is to integrate social features to the applica-tion. Such features can include leaderboards, social mediaintegration and the implementation of multiplayer featureseither locally or online. By adding social elements, collab-oration within the classroom is promoted and students areencouraged to exchange ideas and experiences making theman integral part of the educational process.
The application can also be expanded to be used as a teach-ing tool. By creating the equivalent to a teacher’s handbookthe educator will be able to receive feedback from his class-room in order to assess his student’s knowledge level andplan his lesson accordingly. Additionally an intuitive plat-form for user generated content can be developed so teach-ers will have the ability to create their own challenges. Thisfeature helps expand the application’s content and keep itrelevant as the teaching curriculum changes. [15] [17]
6. REFERENCES[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality.
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamification.
[3] www.gamification.org/education.
[4] http://www.blender.org/.
[5] http://unity3d.com.
[6] R. T. Azuma. A survey of augmented reality.
[7] R. Bartle. Hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades: Playerswho suit muds.
[8] M. Csikszentmihalyi. Beyond Boredom and Anxiety.Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco, 1975.
[9] M. M. Gaasland. Game mechanic based e-learning: Acase study.
[10] J. Hamari and V. Erant. Framework for designing andevaluating game achievements. In Think Design PlayProceedings. Digra, September 2011.
[11] K. M. Kapp. The Gamification of Learning andInstruction: Game-based Methods and Strategies forTraining and Education. Pfeiffer, 1975.
[12] J. J. Lee and J. Hammer. Gamification in education:What, how, why bother? Academic ExchangeQuarterly, 15(2), 2011.
[13] J. McGonigal. Reality Is Broken: Why Games MakeUs Better and How They Can Change The World.Penguin Press, New York, 2011.
[14] B. Reeves and J. L. Read. Total Engagement: Usinggames and virtual worlds to change the way peoplework and businesses compete. Harvard Buisness Press,2009.
[15] M. Sridharan, A. Hrishikesh, and L. S. Raj. Gamemechanic based e-learning. unpublished.
[16] A. Sumner. Getting started with gamification. InSIDLIT Conference Proceedings. JCCC, August 2011.
[17] G. Zichermann and C. Cunningham. Gamification byDesign: Implementing Game Mechanics in Web andMobile Apps. O’Reilly Media, 2011.
95
